Published: Monday, April 22, 2013 at 6:42 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, April 22, 2013 at 6:42 p.m.

A good deed — on the victims' part — led to trouble early Saturday morning when police say two men robbed the strangers who helped them restart their car and then led officers on a chase.

The street chase ended when police say the driver rammed his SUV into a Henderson County Sheriff's Office patrol car.

Both suspects fled on foot, but tips from the public informed officers that one was trying to catch a cab at a nearby gas station and the other was pleading with residents in the Balsam Road area to let him use their phones, according to a news release from the Hendersonville Police Department.

Vernon Uriah Brown, 27, of Harris Street in Hendersonville, and Dusten Robert Thomas-Yount, 22, of Etowah, were charged with two counts each of robbery with a dangerous weapon. Yount was also charged with felony fleeing to elude arrest and damage to county property after police say he rammed his Ford Explorer into the patrol car.

Hendersonville Police Chief Herbert Blake said officers responded to a report of an armed robbery at 2:22 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot of Norm's Minit Mart at 118 Dana Road. The victims told police they were approached by two males who asked them for help with jumping the battery of their disabled vehicle.

After the suspects' SUV roared to life, the victims told police that one of the suspects pulled a gun and demanded money. Police said Brown and Yount fled the scene in their SUV, heading east. Dispatchers issued a warning for officers to look for the suspects.

“Deputies with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office — Jake McMurray and Jason Capps — located the vehicle traveling on Spartanburg Highway and attempted to conduct a traffic stop,” the release says.

“A vehicle pursuit ensued that ended when the passenger exited the vehicle and fled on foot. The driver then rammed the patrol vehicle while attempting to escape and fled on foot in the Meadow Park Lane area.”

Police said callers reported that one of the suspects, “covered in mud, was trying to get into a taxi at the Shell gas station on Spartanburg Highway, across the street from where the suspects crashed. A second suspect was knocking on doors and requesting the use of a phone in the area of Balsam Road and Spartanburg Highway.”

Hendersonville K-9 Sgt. J. Case tracked the two suspects and recovered items linked to Yount and Brown, the release says.

Yount and Brown remain in custody at the Henderson County Detention Center. Brown is being held in lieu of a $120,000 secured bond. Yount is being held in lieu of a $131,000 secured bond.

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact Detective Rich Olsen with the Hendersonville Police Department at 828-697-3025.

Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.

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